Second charge continues rebound with 21 per cent bounce

According to data from trade body the Finance and Leasing Association (FLA), there were 1,717 second charge transactions completed worth £68m in October.

While this was up 21 per cent in value and number on September’s figures, this remained 35 per cent and 43 per cent respectively down on the same month last year.

And the impact of the prolonged recovery in the market is showing in the annual figures.

In the 12 months up to and including October there were 18,388 completions worth £800m, both totals were down by a third from the 12 months to October 2019.

Fiona Hoyle, head of consumer and mortgage finance at the FLA, (pictured) said: “Despite weaker consumer confidence, new business volumes in the second charge mortgage market continued to recover in October.

“In the ten months to October 2020, new business volumes in this market remained 41 per cent lower than in the same period in 2019.

“Lenders are continuing to do all they can to support customers during this challenging period. If customers are experiencing payment difficulties we encourage them to contact their lender as soon as possible.”

Households cautious about building up debt

Overall, consumer finance new business fell in October 2020 by 11 per cent compared with the same month in 2019 and decreased by 18 per cent in the ten months to October 2020.

Consumer car finance new business by value and retail store and online credit each grew in October by two per cent compared with the same month in 2019.

However, credit card and personal loan new business together fell by 20 per cent in October 2020 compared with the same month in 2019.

FLA chief economist and head of research Geraldine Kilkelly said: “Consumer confidence weakened as new restrictions were introduced in October to deal with the rise in coronavirus cases. This is reflected in weaker demand for consumer finance across most of the main products.

“The economic outlook has improved following the promised rollout of a vaccine before Christmas.

“Our latest research suggests that consumer credit in the UK is expected to grow by nine per cent in 2021, following a contraction of 22 per cent in 2020 as a whole. New lending on credit cards is expected to grow by only five per cent next year, with households more cautious about building up debt post-crisis.”